| Injured | Killed |
|---|---|
| 0 | 1 |
Date: 28 November 2010
Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20101128-305866/Cop-shot-dead-by-2-gunmen-in-Escalante-City-cockpit
BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines—Suspected hitmen shot dead Sunday a policeman inside a cockpit in Barangay (village) Balintawak, Escalante City, Negros Occidental, 102 kilometers north of this city.
Police Officer 2 Johnny Panton Urbano succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds in the head and different parts of his body and was declared dead on arrival at the Vicente Gustilo District Hospital in Escalante City, Chief Inspector Santiago Rapiz, Escalante’s police chief, said.
Rapiz said that two hitmen, backed up by three others, successively shot Urbano, using .45-cal. and 9mm pistols, inside a cockpit owned by the family of his wife in Purok Antipolo, Sitio Bug-as, Barangay Balintawak at about 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
The gunmen, who were described by witnesses as 16 to 18 years old, finished him off by shooting him in the head several times, he said.
The shooting caused panic among cockfight aficionados who scampered in different directions, Rapiz said.
The gunmen fired their guns in the air as they were fleeing, he added.
Rapiz said the slain policeman was divested of his gun, wallet and a cellular phone by the gunmen.
The police have yet to determine the motive for the killing but are looking at the possibility that it was linked to the criminal cases now pending against him in court.
Urbano was assigned to the provincial police headquarters and placed on floating status since last month after he was linked to a murder and a frustrated murder case, Rapiz said.
Urbano was out on a P200,000 bail. He and his wife, and an unidentified suspect, were linked to the killing of businessman Dixon Chiu and Antonio Colmenares, and for the injury of Ricardo Palabrica in Bacolod City, on Oct. 29, 2008, police records showed.
After he posted bail, Urbano was relieved from Sagay City Police Station and reassigned to Camp Alfredo Montelibano Sr. in Bacolod City, pending deliberations of his case by the court, Rapiz said.